I’m tired. I’m stressed. I’m wired…Cortisol, what a bugger
I’m tired.
I’m stressed.
I’m wired.
My waist keeps expanding.
My cravings are out of control.
My hormones are a mess.
What is going on?!
Two words my friends: Stress and Cortisol. They mean business and they play hard.
Cortisol is the hormone that governs or control your hunger cravings, digestion, blood pressure, sleep/wake patterns, physical activity, and ability to cope with stress.
Under acute stress, your body produces a short surge in cortisol, which causes an increase in energy and focus. This reaction is designed to help you get out of bed in the morning – or out of a dangerous or challenging situation – and to give you the mojo needed to get s#!! done! It’s healthy, necessary and beneficial . . . when it’s infrequent.
The challenge is that, for many people, the cortisol surge never turns off. Chronic stress can lead to elevated cortisol, or it may cause your cortisol levels to swing wildly between too high and too low – sometimes within a matter of hours in the same day. You lay down at night EXHAUSTED but wired and can’t fall to sleep; or when you do fall asleep it’s for a sort period of time and then you wake between 1am-4am. When the alarm finally goes off you DRAG yourself out of bed and begin the race of your life again…
What’s worse is that many of us are hooked on this hormone imbalance. We drink coffee to wake up and wine to fall asleep. We work late and glorify “busy-ness.” And then wonder why we feel moody, anxious, tired-but-wired, and can’t stop gaining weight.
I can relate to all of this in such an IMMENSE way, but I also stop in my tracks and ask, “what do I need to change?” and “how do I TRULY want to feel?”
It was when I finally started to acknowledge the stress in my life and the imbalance in my hormones that I started to see changes in my energy, in my stomach, I had no more bloating, my recovery from workouts and teaching classes was better, my cellulite was disappearing and I was feeling great.
I am still on this journey. My life is still busy and my body still has some areas of tension and imbalance that I need to work on. I too need the reminders, just like you to be careful of not doing too much, to eat right, drink enough water and to get to sleep!
It is the exact reason why I created my evergreen program upcoming this November / December. What is this program going to be about? Well a sneak peak into the countless benefits it can provide:
- More ENERGY
- Better DIGESTION
- Balanced HORMONES
- Weight LOSS
- Improved SLEEP
- Increased SEX DRIVE
- Improved SKIN
- Stable MOOD and BLOOD SUGAR
This program will help you shed pounds of inflammation, painful bloating, embarrassing gas, hormones that are all over the place with peaks and lows of cortisol, massive insulin surges and drops. We will crush your cravings, cleanse your liver and begin to purge the junk from your trunk…literally all in an effort to give you smoother, healthier, less cheesy looking skin on your belly, hips, glutes and thighs AKA cellulite’s favourite places to hang out.
I’ve got your back on this one girls 🙂 I’ll be releasing more information about it over the next coming weeks. Stay tuned…
Nothing will relax and stabilize you quite like a balanced homemade soup! Try out this fall-friendly soup this weekend – make a big batch and have lunch for the next couple days.
Creamy Cashew Carrot Soup
- 1 lb carrots
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 946 ml organic vegetable broth (want to make your own stock? Try this recipe)
- 1 can organic coconut milk
- 11⁄4 cups raw, unsalted cashews
- 1⁄4 teaspoon thyme
- 1⁄4 teaspoon sage
- Salt and pepper to taste
Chop carrots and place in a pot with enough water to cover; steam until very tender.
Heat the oil over low-medium, sautéing the onions and garlic.
Once done drain the carrots and add the broth, onions, and garlic.
Bring the soup to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the carrots become tender. This could take between 10–30 minutes.
Next, use an immersion blender to puree the vegetables with the stock. Continue simmering over low heat.
Using a food processor, puree the cashews with 1⁄2 cup of the pureed soup. Puree until a smooth butter is formed, then transfer it back to the soup pot. Add the thyme and sage.
Use the immersion blender to mix the soup, making sure that the ingredients are all dispersed completely. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.